Georgia Regents University is breaking ground on a new student housing complex Friday morning.

The ceremony is being held in partnership with the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, and Corvias Campus Living.

The complex will be a 724-bed facility.

Construction is anticipated to begin in May and conclude in late summer 2016.

Read the text of a press release from GRU we received after the groundbreaking below:

Georgia Regents University broke ground today on two new residence halls through a partnership with the University System of Georgia and Corvias Campus Living.

"Campus life and residence hall living are vital contributors to a successful educational experience. This new housing complex, the result of a unique public-private partnership between the University System of Georgia and Corvias Campus Living, ushers in an exciting new era of residence life at GRU. When completed, in addition to providing quality, safe, and affordable housing for our students, it will provide expanded opportunities for enriching campus engagement and will elevate the student experience at GRU to an entirely new level," said GRU President Ricardo Azziz.

As part of the project, existing facilities with a combined 220 beds will be replaced with a 97,000-square-foot undergraduate residence hall with 413 beds, and a 172,000-square-foot graduate residence hall with 310 beds. The undergraduate residence will consist of two-bedroom suites, while the graduate residence will consist of studio and one-bedroom apartments.

GRU is one of nine institutions in the University System benefitting from the $548-million agreement with Corvias Campus Living. The Public-Private Partnership designates Corvias as the developer of 3,733 new beds and the manager of 6,195 existing beds of on-campus housing with the University System for the next 65 years. The partnership is the first time a state higher education system has privatized residence hall living.

"The University System is always looking for ways to keep student housing costs down and affordable to students," said Associate Vice Chancellor for Real Estate and Facilities Susan Ridley. "This innovative approach does just that while providing state-of-the-art student spaces."

"Today we break ground on the new student housing that will accommodate and transform Georgia Regents University. This project will help shape a sense of community with on-campus residencies. We're very excited to help implement that transformation here in Augusta," said Corvias Campus Living Portfolio Director Jimmy Scott.

Demolition of existing facilities will begin in May, with residence halls scheduled to open in fall 2016.

GRU is one of nine universities to receive on-campus student housing as part of Phase I of the University System of Georgia's Public-Private Partnership initiative.